Around two years ago, Zalman released their ZM-RS6F headphones in what was a surprising departure from their range of speciality PC cooling products. But the unique selling point of the ZM-RS6F is the fact that they are real 5.1 channel surround sound headphones and since their release they have been selling like the hottest of hot cakes!

Rather than resting on their laurels, Zalman have continued to move forward into the audio market. Their latest offering, the ZM-DS4F, are an everyday set of headphones that can be used anywhere and with anything. Because they use neodymium magnet speaker units, they give an amazingly high quality sound for the price. They are lightweight so you hardly know you are wearing them, and they are cleverly designed to fold up when not in use so they can easily be stored or transported.

The ZM-DS4F headphones have primarily been developed for use with portable MP3 music players, but they also work very well when connected directly to a PC. The Tech Power Up review states, "I didn't intend on trying these headphones in games because they are made for use with a portable player (1.5 m cord length), but I did test them briefly in CounterStrike: Source. To my surprise these headphones were quite good. I was able to pinpoint where other players were shooting from and hear footsteps and so on".

The great sound has been achieved by both ear pieces actually having two speakers instead of the more conventional single-speaker design. There is a 28mm tweeter that reproduces the high frequencies and a 40mm woofer for those low notes. The headphones also feature a toe-in-pivot for maximum comfort.